Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Foolad will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Foolad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Foolad will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Foolad can pretend not to have heard.
Amir Masoud Sarabadani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Foolad will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Amir Masoud Sarabadani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Words at Foolad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saeid Sadeghi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Mohammad Reza Soleimani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I watch every Foolad game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Sepahan runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Ali Karimi falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Yanis Hamache was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Saeid Sadeghi falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Mohammad Reza Soleimani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Add another name to the list: Siah Jamegan have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Arash Hashemi. The answer from Foolad has not changed — yet.
At 24 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Foolad can pretend not to have heard.
Yanis Hamache was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Erfan Najjari is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Saeid Sadeghi falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Zob Ahan will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Danny has pre-agreed a move to Foolad, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Abolfazl Zadehattar has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.09 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Foolad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: Malavan have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Yousef Mazrae. The answer from Foolad has not changed — yet.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ali Karimi commits to Foolad for another 2 years.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words at Foolad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saeid Sadeghi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Foolad, another week without a signature from Yousef Mazrae.
Nobody sells a season ticket on a signing like this. Every manager who has been through a bad October wants one anyway, and Foolad have gone and got theirs early.
396 appearances across 8 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
The instruction has come from upstairs rather than from the dugout, which is the version of this conversation no manager enjoys. Somebody in that squad is now available whether the man who picks the team thinks so or not.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Foolad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Kaveh Taremi has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ashkan Vafaei has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Milad Cheshmi has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Mehdi Rezaeian has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
In brief
SquadYousef Mazrae falls out with a teammate over standards
Yanis Hamache was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The phone has started ringing about Hossein Kazeminia again, and this time the name on the line is Esteghlal Ahvaz. Foolad are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Saeid Sadeghi falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Foolad has been clear about where Joel Sacks stands, which is more than many ever get.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Foolad have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Foolad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces14 Jun 2027
Foolad spend $380.0K on the signing the town wanted
It is the rarest sequence in football: supporters ask for something, and the club goes and does it. $380.0K for Ali Karimi, and for one week nobody is complaining about anything.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Foolad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saeid Sadeghi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The fee is $990.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Zob Ahan drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Padideh moved on, Ali Kamali reports back to Sepahan, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Foolad paid $380.0K and Sepahan took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
In brief
SquadKaveh Rezaei falls out with a teammate over standards
The offer from Gostaresh Foulad for Blas Valenzuela was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
The instruction has come from upstairs rather than from the dugout, which is the version of this conversation no manager enjoys. Somebody in that squad is now available whether the man who picks the team thinks so or not.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words at Sepahan training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ricardo Alves is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Arash Rezavand was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Add another name to the list: Foolad have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Ali Karimi. The answer from Sepahan has not changed — yet.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Sepahan has been clear about where Blas Valenzuela stands, which is more than many ever get.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Padideh will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Hossein Pouraliganji was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad24 May 2027
Words at Padideh training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ali Karimi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Padideh will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Kaveh Rezaei was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sepahan, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
Hossein Pouraliganji was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Words at Padideh training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ali Karimi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Hossein Pouraliganji was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at Padideh training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ali Karimi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Padideh this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Hossein Pouraliganji was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Padideh training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ali Karimi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Saman Ebrahimi, and the manager let it.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Ali Karimi falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Shahin Taherkhani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
16 appearances at Naft Tehran, an average of 6.11, and two clubs quietly wishing they had not bothered. Loans are supposed to answer questions; this one only added them.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Padideh have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The phone has started ringing about Ahmad Nekounam again, and this time the name on the line is LA Galaxy. Padideh are listening politely and promising nothing.
Jaime Carreño was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
In brief
SquadAli Karimi falls out with a teammate over standards
22 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Padideh lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Hossein Pouraliganji was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 8 of the 26 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Padideh this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Ali Karimi falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Nobody at Padideh will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The words a physio says slowly. 147 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Sepahan, and it is not being withdrawn.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Sepahan have had the benefit of it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sepahan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The phone has started ringing about Ali Karimi again, and this time the name on the line is Esteghlal. Sepahan are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at Sepahan training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohammad Reza Akhbari is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Gostaresh Foulad will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Sepahan were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Two goals and a mark of 9.08 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Turki Al-Ghamil did not need any: 7.76, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.24 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sepahan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match19 Dec 2026
Another one collected away from home
4 on the bounce on the road for Sepahan. The coaches leave early, arrive at unlovely grounds in the dark, and keep coming home with three points.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Ricardo Alves falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.06 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
23 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
Mohammad Reza Akhbari was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Ricardo Alves falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.